September 5, 2013

Coolest Writing Resource Ever?


Thumbs up!
Wouldn't it be nice if we could keep an English teacher in our back pocket? Fast access to a writing critique buddy would make our papers and novels read better. This month, I was excited to explore the new grammar site, Grammarly.com. This website is the perfect solution for students, bloggers and other writers. Let's face it -- no matter how hard I try, I'm never going to be able to remember the difference between lay and lie. I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because a post on grammar should be error free. Now, I have a cheat sheet at my fingertips!

Grammarly critiques documents by allowing a cut and paste or an upload. After identifying what type of information is being submitted (a paper, some fiction, a resume), Grammarly's grammar engine identifies writing, spelling and grammar mistakes we haven't thought about since 6th grade. The highlighted areas of concern come with a choice of short or long explanations that teach the correct method of writing. The submitted work is scored to give you an idea of how well you've written. My favorite trick is the missing word identifier. A program that identifies missing words is a great gift for writers who have a hard time editing their own work because it's so familiar to them.

This is a well thought out website. Besides catching mistakes and improving your writing, it also features a user community to answer questions and a search engine for fast turnaround. The most skilled users who help others receive ratings and awards that reassure you he or she knows what they're talking about. Other perks to joining this site include a personal online handbook and the option to download Grammarly to your desktop. 

This past month I used Grammarly to check some excerpts of my fiction and to critique a freelance article. I was pleased with both of the results, although I acknowledge some of the notifications such as questionable word spellings were incorrect. All in all, Grammarly offers a great insight into sentence structure and grammar and will help tighten any type of writing. It comes at a price, but there is a seven day free trial. I highly recommend checking it out.

**Giveaway**

1. Follow this blog! 

2. Visit Grammarly and tell me what you think by commenting below.

3. Don't forget to include your contact information. Entries without contact information will be void.

Giveaway ends 9/12/2013

14 comments:

B. J. Robinson said...

Sounds like a program to check. Looks helpful. BJ Robinson

Unknown said...


A really helpful article. Thank you for this blog.
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Anonymous said...

I love grammarly. Use it all the time. Even during my rough drafts. :)
bidelia78@yahoo.com

Jim Hartley said...

I looked at Grammarly ... way, way, way too expensive for me. I'm not sure I'd want to use it anyway. I have a pretty good grasp of grammar, but there are times when the "sound" and "feel" of a story requires bending the rules of grammar a bit. Or a lot. I have a book coming out with dialog that is intended to be in a alien (as in from another planet) language ... I bet Grammarly would blow it's nut trying to check that.

Jim Hartley
linuxjim@programmer.net

Ashley Applebee said...

Wow! Sounds like a program/site I should be using!! Thanks for the great giveaway!!
Ashley A
ash_app@hotmail.com

Nicole Zoltack said...

It looks like a nice site. Thanks for pointing it out!

JackieW said...

I think it's great we have a place like Grammarly to go to for help with our grammar. I'm glad to know about it. Thanks for the info.
JFWisherd(at)aol(dot)com

Deb PelletierC said...

My sister would like this, will let her know. Deb P
r.d1@myfairpoint.net

Anonymous said...

Helpful blog and helpful site, Danielle. Thank you so much.
cindy@dragonflyromance.com

wanda f said...

This sounds like a great tool .I usually I don't make many spelling errors but run on sentences and punctuation issues would definitely be helped .Thank you for sharing with us today .Have a awesome evening .
Ifollow via gfc wanda f
wanda
flanagan@mebtel.net

Carol said...

Grammarly looks interesting but I have a fairly good grasp on grammar so pricewise, it does not look like a good fit for me. Despite knowing grammar, I find Microsoft Word autocorrections create some problems especially when I use foreign words.

Carol said...

Missed my info
a dot charol at yahoo dot ca

Melissa Call said...

How cool! Sending a link to the website to my friend!!

Melissa Call said...

Sending to my girlfriend, she could use this!

wihockeycall(at)yahoo (dot)com